Liquid Metal: A Quicksilver Novel
by TheLovelyBirds
Summary: Josephine Dane is a mutant in a newly reestablished school for higher learning. It seems they had won the war on peace until the world breaks its vow.
1. Chapter 1: Quicksilver

I sighed with disappointment, standing there looking at the newly 'collected' items. These included a multitude of little knickknacks a radio and even a freaking pinball machine. My arms were crossed and my foot tapping.

"You really need to stop." I said turning to look at my speedy friend.

We were currently in the hideout/sanctuary that was his basement, an arbitrary place adorned with the multitude of items he'd snagged over the years.

"Nah..." Peter said in all of his silvery haired glory. No matter how many times I said he needed a haircut he just gave me 'the angry eyes' and dismissed me. He Looked up at me from the table-tennis paddle he held currently in his hand, weighing it, spinning it in his grasp. "Game?" he offered, holding up the paddle in an offering gesture.

"Are you kidding?... No I don't want a game" I said and Peter simply shrugged. "I'd die" I added in a quiet mumble and I saw him smirk and simply start a game by himself becoming only a blur and 'whoosh' as he went to the opposite side to hit his target.

Peter Maximoff is one of my only long time friends, Dont feel bad though, i was a weird kid. one time I straight up told a kid to 'go to hell' (keep in mind I was probay six when I did it and I had no idea what I was saying). We met when we were both eleven and both our mutations already manifested. He of course, had always maintained his cocky attitude and I had kept my weird social tendencies that probably should have gotten me kicked out of more than one respected establishment, but it was one of the things I loved about him and I was glad he put up with my antics.

Now about my mutation, I guess you could call me a bit of a telepath of sorts. Although I can't exactly read minds and thoughts, but I can look at someone and analyze them. It's like reading a personal profile: date of birth, date of death, hobbies, weaknesses, important personal events. It's all there like a screen floating in the air. Even sometimes I watched those events and memories like I was a ghost in the scene. All though I never ment to do it and it was sometimes traumatizing for me it was a thing I had to deal with and I usually took it with a smile and an obnoxious joke.

"Where were you last week?" I asked suddenly remembering the question I meant to ask.

"What are you talking about?" He replied, trying to be sly.

I rolled my eyes. "I talked to your sister, she barley knew but that doesn't mean you were here in your rats nest all week." I practically lived at the Maximoff household so I knew when something was up. Plus mutant powers are always a kicker.

Peter flinched when I mentioned Wanda. They are twins, but that doesn't mean they are besties all the time. She was often away doing some kind of charity work in some poor part of the world or meeting some big wig and negotiating projects, and over all really sucsessful thing, but she had come home last week and the week before just to visit.

"I had a job offer." He said finally with a shrug.

I sighed, shaking my head. I knew that that would be the most that I got out of him. It was gonna be a long summer.

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Hey guys! Thanks for checking out my quicksilver story!i know this chapter is super short but it's my first one and I want you all to get a feel for it. I also want to say that I'm gonna be following both the comic plot (hence his sister's involvement cause I think she's really cool) and the movie plot! Favorite and comment with any thoughts ideas and suggestions!

-Em


	2. Chapter 2: The Freaking Pentagon

"Are you serious, the freaking pentagon!" Okay, I actually wasn't that surprised, but it had taken me a good half an hour to coax the story out of him. I guess it would have been ten times easier to just look at the event myself but he had made me promise that I wouldn't do that without his consent... Well, his version of making me promise was threatening to read twelve-year-old-me's diary. (Which I had utterly abandoned about five years ago FYI)

"Yep" He said with one of the ridiculous smiles plastered on his smug little face.

"Just to break out this one guy?..."

"Precisely"

"A guy who shot and killed the president of the United States." I still couldn't believe this.

"Yeah" He looked as though he was surprised at how I was taking this. "There a problem?"

"You're doomed" I said with exasperation as I fell back into a rather fluffy chair and my hair fell my eyes. Just as I did so there was a knock at the door.

We both looked at each other. I waited for him to move and he did the same for me. Peter raised his eyebrows at me expectantly. There was about a minute of silence while we just waited for the other to do something and get the freaking door.

"Oh come on! it's your house! It would take you literally less than a second to go get that" I said trying not to smile and be serious. He just raised his already lifted eyebrows even more, that stupid toothless smile still adorning his face just looking at me.

"Fine! don't strain yourself," I said as I threw my hands up. "Heaven forbid you do that" I grumbled going up the stairs "freaking mutant... being all lazy... can't even get the door" I continued in my low rant until I opened the door. "Yes can I help you?" I asked with a polite voice even before I actually looked at them.

"Hi, are you Wanda?" a woman asked. She was dressed in a skirt suit thing that was a burgundy color and had she her brown hair pinned up in a businessy bun.

"No, I'm just a family friend" I said trying to figure out who this lady was.

Age: 27

Occupation: journalist

Weakness: too quick to trust

Life events: unimportant.

Mutation: rather like mine, but less detailed. She listens, I watch

Her face was a bit confused as to why I had come to the door and was probably staring freakishly at her for awhile. I again mentally cursed Peter for making me do this. Though, he probably was figuring out who she was too.

"I'm Carol Marshal from the Daily Tribune, I'd like to ask a few questions" she spoke with that annoying press-lady voice that always made you want to comply.

"Yeah, just a second." I closed the door a fraction so I wouldn't yell in her face. "PETER!" I called, hoping he would walk like a normal human... which of course he didn't. He seemed to have magically appeared next to me the wind he generated would have knocked any inexperienced person over, but when you've been doing it for over five years you eventually learn.

I instantly looked at Carol expecting some grand reaction, but I was sadly disappointed.

"You must be Peter." she said holding out her hand. I folded arms and leaned against the wall, watching them.

She talked about mutations (apparently she was one herself, being able to persuade people just by willing them. Guess that explains why she's a journalist).

"so what story is this for?" I asked suddenly and probably interrupting her.

"Im sorry?" She looked a little confused.

"The story this is for" I repeated. "Journalists don't usually just show up at your door to get a new acquaintance" I'm not saying that I don't trust journalists but if I had to chose giving a secret to a preteen in middle school and a journalist, I'd chose the kid.

"Oh, there's no story" she said with a smile " I have simply never met other mutants" I wanted to snort, is she serious?

"What do you do?" She asked changing the subject.

"I can analyze people and everything that they are" I told her crossing my arms.

"Like a telepath?" she asked.

"Well, no it's not like that. its not like voices In my head. I see it, its like a screen or a profile in front of me." she nodded, understandingly.

"Well, not that this isn't fun, but we really should be going." I said shutting the door in her face. I don't stick around sketchy people.

"Admit it, that was freaking weird" I said making my way to the kitchen and rifling through the fridge until I found a soda way in the back.

Popping the tab I turned to look at Peter who was quiet which means he's either thinking or hurt, so I assumed the ladder.

"You gonna go?" He asked

"Go where?"

"That school" He said

"what school?" I asked.

"The school that lady mentioned" he said. Huh, guess I zoned out longer than I though I did.

"don'know" I said. "depends on what my family says I 'spose"

He groaned. rubbing his face, "ah, come on, you know they'll never let you, they might as well hate you and dance at your funeral"

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Yay! I hope this chapter is okay, I just needed something to kick off the plot. please comment and follow if you'd like! It helps out alot!


	3. Chapter 3: Charles Xavier

I woke up the next morning with a horribly slug-like attitude. The day seemed to be glaring at me from the get go.

"Josephine!" I heard someone yell from downstairs. I groaned and buried my head under my pillow. After drifting off for about three minuets I heard my name again, knowing I would never be aloud to go back to sleep I threw my comforter off of me and got out of bed grumbling. I slunk to my bathroom and attempted to control my ridicules mass of dark red curls with a light gel. I rubbed some moisturizer on my face in a rather unattractive fashion and impressed my half-alive self by managing to do a decent liquid liner. I pulled on clean clothes (one tends not to care what they look like when fist waking up) and flopped down the stairs.

I heard my mom talking to someone that was not my dad in the living room. Turning the corner I saw two strangers, one sitting on the couch, the other was in a wheel chair. now I usually don't pry into other people's minds but I couldn't help my self. I looked at the life of the tall lanky one on the couch. Flicking by his life profile quickly so I just got the gist of it. science kid, real smart, mutant, had some kind of mishap with a drug, his name was Hank... but overall he seemed trustable though he had a quick temper.

In the few seconds I had zoned out, my mother had noticed me standing there.

"Ah there she is!" She said in an unecharacturisticly happy voice. And both of the men turned to look at me.

"Did I do something wrong...?" I asked apprehensively slow, tempted to take a step back.

"Oh no! we were just discussing your.. your-ah.." I sighed, she had always been uncomfortable with the whole thing.

"Mutation" One of the men finished and my mother smiled in a false thanks.

Well he's British I thought to myself, intrigued.

"Your from that school aren't you?" I asked with a huge smile sweeping across my face a I remembered what Peter and I were talking about last night.

"Indeed I am." He said "allow me to introduce myself, I'm Charles Xavier." He said extending his hand. I shook it, still mesmerized that he was actually here.

"Your opening it back up?" I asked looking between both men. Charles nodded

"Yes, I was hoping you'd be interested."

"Are you kidding? of course I am" I said, taking a seat next to my mother who then proceeded to scoot away from me.

"The semester starts in a little over a month" Hank said for the first time. "so far we have nearly seventy five kids enrolled" he looked proud and I figured he should be.

A silence started to spread over the room until it was shattered by the sound of the phone ringing. I immediately shot up and raced to get it, seeing my mother give me a nasty look. I blew her a kiss.

"Hello?" I said, picking of the shrieking communication device.

"I need to talk to you" I heard Peter say over the line.

"Well what are you doing right now?" I asked cheekily. looping my index finger around the spiraling cord.

"It's about Wanda" he explained, ignoring my comment"

"Well shit, what'd she do?" I asked now that he had caught my attention.

There was a pause, the static brig the only noise. "Are you decent?" He asked finally. I laughed.

Yeah, and if you come now, you might meet a couple of interesting guests. I said looking out the window to the parked car they came in.

"Well be sure to tell mother-dearest I'm on my way." And with that he hung up on me


	4. Chapter 4: A New Record

As soon as I set down the phone on the receiver I hit the stopwatch that had I put next to the phone so long ago. I stood there, just tapping my foot watching the tiny needle race across the face of the clock. I did this for about sixteen seconds before I heard a brief knock on the door. Pushing down the timer the hand stopped, I skipped over to the door still hearing my mother attempting to maintain a conversation in the living room.

"I do believe you've made a new record my good sir." I said as I opened the door to see a rather accomplished looking Peter.

"Whose car is that?" He asked jerking a thumb at the one parked on the curb.

"What, you didn't look?" I said with surprise.

"If I had done that I wouldn't have beaten my time." He said like it was obvious.

I held the door open and he waltzed through it making sure to be way too close to my face just to be weird and he ruffled my hair making he swat his hand. Peter found his way to my kitchen and as if by routine, proceeded to raid my food and organize the dishes in my sink. I leaned against the counter with my arms crossed as I watched him speed around my kitchen like it was his own making who-knows-what, stopping here and there to do a small task. It was rather amusing to watch him.

"So...what's up?" I asked hopping up so I was siting cross-legged on the counter now. "You mentioned your sister."

"Well she just hasn't talked to me in a while..." He said with a frown as he set out a pot, putting a spoon in his mouth to gain an extra hand.

I stared at him for a good ten seconds and he paused, watching back in a stiff manor. After the six second mark he broke.

"What?" He demanded a tad confused.

"She hasn't talked to you?... seriously? I spoke with her maybe four days ago."

He gave me a look and I finally had noticed what he made for himself... Macaroni and cheese at ten in the morning... brilliant.

"Well as of right now I don't think you have anything to worry about" I said jumping down from my perch and swiping his spoon before he could eat what was on it and gave him a cheesy smile. (Pun intended)

"And I'm the hopeless one" Peter remarked as I walked over to the window.

"Huh" I thought aloud.

"What?"

"They left, didn't even seem them go"

"Who were they?" He asked appearing next to me. It had stopped making me jump a long time ago.

"Friends of yours apparently" I said turning to give him the stink-eye.

"Damn you and your voodoo powers." He said and I laughed. He was right though, when looking at Hank's information I did see Peter in there.

Busted.

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Hello lovely people! Just wanted so say a quick hello! Now for a question of the day: if you could rename the earth, what would you call it and why? (No reason for this question... its a. just cause kinda thing) thanks for being awesome!


	5. Chapter 5: The Pains of Packing

Four weeks had past since I had been invited to that school and I currently found myself upside down on my bed as I hung off the side, my head on the floor. It was a result of my attempt to pack

"So you are going then?" Peter asked, rolling back and forth on my desk chair.

I threw my suitcase at him and he caught it. "duh" I gave him a look. "Why aren't you?"

"Family stuff" The way he said this made me narrow my eyes.

"family stuff, huh?" I said "like my kind of family stuff?" My kind of "family stuff" was simply prejudice parents, Peter on the other had was completely void of one of his parents all together.

"No, nothing that bad" he said with a slight upturn of the corner of his mouth.

"I'll use my 'voodoo' again" I threatened, waving my fingers in the air and he just shook his head, knowing I really wouldn't.

I slid the rest of the way off my bed, painfully landing on my head then slinking to my butt and retrieved my suit case. Trudging over to my wardrobe I started pulling all the clothes that were jammed in the old wooden drawers and started throwing them to my bed.

Being the nice guy that he is, Peter folded them for me, going through at least five shirts a second, It kinda made me worried that he'd put a hole in some of them He may not admit it, but he's a huge neat freak. I you've seen his basement you would know this. Every swiped item in an exact place like his own little store. Every once in awhile I like to move one or two things just to watch him freak out.

We packed my stuff in a relaxed silence, occasionally making stupid comments about the contents of my wardrobe. An hour in Peter had found my Halloween costume from when I was eight and since it included a cape he had found it necessary to tie it around his head in a nun-like fashion.

"I haven't seen that in ages." I said laughing at the sight of him.

"Well I'm afraid you'll never see it again, I'm declaring I steal this."

"Well it's absolutely perfect for your skin tone" I said putting on a valley-girl inflection to my words.

He threw a bunched up pair of my floral shorts at me, making a direct hit to my face.

"You know, after doing this you may have to hand in your man card" I teased folding the projectile that was shot at me. I knew Peter was straight but it was still fun to poke at him sometimes.

As I folded the last shirt and somehow managed to cram it into the suitcase I noticed Peter had stopped. Looking up as I zipped it I saw him just watching me.

"What?" I asked feeling a bit self conscience which was weird. He'd stared at me before but it was usually an attempt to start a no-blinking contest or just to try and make me laugh. This was different somehow.

He looked about to say something when the sound of feet racing up the stairs cut him off. My door banged open and a little demon flew at me

"You can't go Josie!" Lorna, my little sister, cried. she shimmed up my bed and hugged my middle glaring at Peter like he was the reason behind all the evil in the world.

I peeled her from me trying to look serious, but in reality I couldn't stay mad at her very long. "I have to" I said smoothing down a lock of her hair that was sticking almost completely straight up.

She began to sniffle, drastically sticking out her bottom lip.

I raised my eyebrows a tilted my head at her. "Doesn't work anymore babe" and she dropped the face instantaneously.

Lorna gave a huge sigh flopping on her back.

"But why can't I come?" she asked.

"Because you're not a mutant." I said poking her stomach causing her to squeal. "At least not yet" I added in a smaller voice going Peter a side glance. After all, it is genetic.

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Hey guys! I'm really sorry for the lack of updates! school is out now so I can start pumping them out like nobody's business! I also realized that if you know comics you know who her sister is (ya ya it's AU but oh well) love you guys and thanks for the support!

Like comment and follow! :)


	6. Chapter 6: A Lovely Goodbye

I didn't even say a goodbye to my mother when I shut the car door behind me. The long ride to the school was particularly awkward because neither of us were willing to start a conversation.

There were other kids unpacking their cars with suitcases and other related items. There had to be at least thirty of them just out here some where younger than me, others where approximately the same age as myself. Hoisting my bag over my shoulder I felt like an outsider here, but I shook it off, it was the first day after all.

There were maps posted on walls and huge crowds had crammed around them to try and figure out just where the heck they were going. I decided against trying my luck at getting to the map so I just took a detour to a different group of kids.

There were registry desks that had various staff working to sign kids in and get them to where they needed to go. I lugged my stuff to a pile of other people's things just so I didn't have to carry it with me the whole time. Standing in line was quiet and strange because I got to read about stone of my peers around me. I was mostly interested in their mutations. There were wall sorts, some of them were purely mental mutations and other involved some physical aspect. Every once in awhile I would accidentally intrude on their memories. I hated doing that because I never meant to do it. It meant I felt everything that they felt which was sometimes painful or overwhelming.

Over what seemed like a long time I found myself giving my name to a rather uncomfortable looking woman with flitting eyes and worry lines on her brow. From what I read on her she was human and was not particularly here by choice. Serving as the in school nurse her name is Annie Ghazikhanian and she had a son going here. She just needed the work.

"Josephine Dane" I said and I watched her look up my name.

"Room 106" she said, her shaky finger tracing my name over to the tiny number next to it. I have her a smile and got out the line as quickly as I could. I snagged my bag and walked up the stairs to a maze of corridors, looking at every door for good ol' number 1-0-6. Once I found it I threw the crippling suitcase off my shoulder and watched it hit the ground with a satisfying thump. Looking around the cozy looking room with a plush red furnished bed, mahogany walls and a quaint wardrobe I noticed a stack of papers on the nightstand that included a map, class schedule, rules and procedures. As I sat on the bed reading the classes I would be attending I realized that I hadn't shut my door. In result a head poked around the corner.

"Hello?" the head asked and a body appeared. A girl my age with red hair and a young pretty complexion She intrigued me immediately. When she saw me there she walked in the rest of the way.

"Hey" She said and I examined her with curiosity. Her name was Jean Grey and I frowned slightly when I saw her fears and history. I shut my eyes when I saw the horrific event that had triggered her mutation in order to keep from entering the memory all together, not to mention her curiously long list of mutations. Nonetheless She seemed like a mellow person and I appreciated that.

I smiled in hello and set the multitude of papers down on my bed. "Hi, Jean is it?" I wasn't used to meeting new people because I always had Peter.

Jean tilted her head in surprise, but made no mention of the fact I knew her name. "Yeah, I'm next door, just wanted to say hi." She said leaning on my door frame. Sticking her thumb in some direction. "You're a telepath?" she asked.

Shaking my head I added a shrug for good measure. "I'm not sure really. I just know things about people."

She nodded, not wanting to pry. I was really starting to like this girl which was odd cause my gender has always been painfully annoying to me.

Hello again friends! I want to say a big old thank you to everyone! Just for even clicking on my story! I try to stick with the facts from the comics as much as I can, like the reasons Jean is here and not Kitty or other things too. please comment or follow!

Hugs and butterfly kisses!

-em


	7. Chapter 7: Adjustments

It was a little but weird at the beginning when we were all getting into the swing of things, but everything fell into its own little groove eventually.

Classes for the younger kids started first and everyone sixteen and up were put in training for the first week. Seeing that I fit in the seventeen range I went with those my age group. This meant we needed to understand our mutation first, then we could learn to control it. Besides, there were only around ten of us so practicing individually wouldn't be that hard. After the mutation training came the physical part: weight training, self defense, espionage. For those who weren't aided by a mutation that made them stronger or a better fighter it was probably the worst thing we ever went through.

Some of us dropped out too, when we were briefed at the beginning as to what we'd be doing with our new skills there were four or five people that blatantly refused to continue.

What was left of us was to be a group of individuals that would pretty much be a protection agency without the total legality of something like the CIA or SHIELD.

I learned rather quickly that most of the other people who had chosen to stay had mutations that were, in no doubt cooler than mine... I mean some guy had freaking wings... Wings for crying out loud! Therefore I just preferred to watch most of the time off to the side in my own little corner of lame. I mean, how much can you do with being able to learn about someone? If I got too bored I'd just go do self defense training, I was pretty good at it too which gave me a little hope for myself.

Today I sat on the side lines watching like I normally did, but I was picking at my shoes at the moment, that stupid rubber sole thing that likes to come apart first was doing just that. I was half tempted to end it all and just yank it.

"Someone once said that ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do and attitude determines how well you do it." I looked up to see a smiling professor Xavier. "Every person is here because they can so something extraordinary, there is no one above anyone or below." This made me frown slightly and think of Jean. He noted this and changed the subject. "What have you you learned so far this week?" He asked.

"Not much, to be honest." I said with a little guilt, picking at my darn shoe.

"Well you, my dear, can do things you don't even realize." and I title my head for him to continue.

"Not only can you learn everything there is to know about a person, you can also watch their memories and completely immerse yourself in the past." This I already knew, but like I mentioned before, I can't really control it when I do it. "And you are a surprisingly strong empath" okay, that I didn't know... "I want you to pick a person in this room and tell me about them." He said.

I gazed out into the largish group of other students, picking a guy I didn't really know. "His names's Scott" I said nodding toward the guy with sunglasses who was laughing with two or three of his new friends. "He's got a brother named Alex and he has an optic mutation." I finished. I could have said more, but this kid had gone through some hard stuff, seeing your parents die in a plane crash isn't exactly public knowledge.

"Very good, now can you tell me what Jean's feeling over there?" he asked and I noticed that jean was alone like me on the side lines.

People's emotions had always been prevalent to me, even before my mutation manifested. It got me in quite the argument with Peter now and then.

"She's complicated" I admitted. "but she feels a bit lonely like me." I frowned at this. She was a sweet girl and I didn't like to see her upset.

"You see Josephine, we all have little things inside us. But very good work today, even if it was at the very end" he laughed a bit and I smiled back. "We'll continue tomorrow" and with that I was alone again.

After dinner I was in my room, lying face first on my bed. Ya, I know it was pathetic, but in my defense I was so freaking bored I was about to die. Plus I was really sore from training.

"Josie" I heard, though it was muffled due to my head being covered by my comforter.

"Huh?" my head shot up, and I blinked at the harsh light from my bedside lamp.

My vision was fuzzy from the lack of use and I had to blink even more to regain that. Once my eyesight focused I noted the person next to my bed, that stupid freaking smile plastered all over his face.

"Jesus Peter, what the hell are you doing here?" I asked, rubbing my face and I proceeded to flop back down.

"Just wanted to say hi" I could hear the mask of innocence he used. Nice try buddy.

"Okay... what else." I said into the covers.

"Have you been watching the news for the past two weeks?" And I shook my head, which proved a bigger effort than I would have liked seeing as though my face was smashed into a bed.

"No, I've been here, like a little hermit." I finally decided at not be face down and took the long and lazy route (which to me is the only route worth taking) to get face up. This meant wiggling and twisting about, determined not to use my arms. "Why, what's going on?"

He poofed for a second and was back, making a gust of wind with him. he held a newspaper in his hand and he held it out to me.

The title of the front page read: It's 1979, Do You Know What Your Children Are? Under neath this was an image of four kids of different ethnicities and genders. The kid at the end had harsh red calligraphy written overtop of his image reading "mutie" and underneath it all were the words Paid For By The Citizens In Support Of The Mutant Registration Act.

"You're freaking kidding me" I muttered, taking the paper. I stared at it for awhile then threw it down. "What a freaking joke." I paused for a second. "Wait a second, did you break in here just to show me this?" I asked snatching up the paper and holding it up.

He shrugged and I narrowed my eyes."Just worried I guess." He said shrugging again.

"Worried?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Yeah"

"About me?"

"Duh" he said ruffling my hair sitting down next to the hall I heard a knock on a door.

" Ah shit, dorm check" I swore standing up quickly, pulling Peter up with me. "You need to go" I said pushing him onward toward the door.

"Well that was an enthusiastic reunion." He said deciding to be a rock and not moving.

"Seriously you need to go, next time come earlier, or at actual visitation hours... that would be better so I'm not all alone during those." I said leaning my whole body into my effort of moving him.

Peter just laughed at me and in an instant was gone and I was falling. He caught me and set me upright and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Stay safe kid." And then he was gone leaving me confused and little pissed, but the weird part of my mind was smiling and doing a happy dance.

Running a hand through my blonde curls I sat on the edge of my bed. A knock was at my door and before I could even respond it opened and Ms. Downing poked we head in, checking if I was hiding any fugitives or mass-murderers or boys... she smiled seeing I was all clear and where I was supposed to be and disappeared, leaving me to my thoughts... a scary place...

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Hey guys! I, again want to say a big thanks to you all for your enthusiasm in me! I honestly had no idea where this story was gonna go but now I do! Like always, I use real things from the comics but I tweak them. Like the newspaper was a real thing. anyway Comment, like and love!

p.s who is your faveroite X-men? (that's not wolverine! I love him and all he's just really over used, ya know?) leave your response in the comment section! Mine is either colossus or Magik... Don't judge :)


	8. Chapter 8: I Hate Working

When the three weeks of separation between the age groups was over I had to actually go to classes. Ew...

Around six-thirty in the morning my alarm clock dragged me kicking and screaming from my peaceful dreams. Smacking the little shrieking monster next to me on my nightstand, I literally rolled out of bed.

When I saw myself in the full length mirror I pulled a face when I saw my ridiculously poof-ball like hair. There was no way I was going to even try to tame it with a brush.

Grumbleing to myself I dragged my feet to the shower which was no where near as warm as I would have liked it to be, but I guess that's what you get when ou wake up half an hour later than the majority of the school. I wasn't late, but I didn't want to chance it. Breakfast was at seven until seven forty-five and classes started at eight and since I'm the kind of person who uses every minuet of my morning I tend to stretch my time to the fullest. After my shower I struggled with my jeans for some reason (stupid thing kept bunching at my knee) so I scratched the idea entirely and chose a swishy brown skirt, cream tank top and a warm autumn leaf orange sweater/ cardigan thing. When in doubt I always wore layers. While my hair was drying I did my makeup and I proceeded to tame the frizz of newly washed curly hair with mouse and finished where I started: looking in that full length mirror, this time much more pleased with my appearance. Thus ends what I do every gosh darn day... being a girl is freaking grueling sometimes.

At breakfast I chose a vacant table and ate my fruit and eggs in quite contented peace until I was joined by Jean, who was accompanied by Scott who brought along Warren who was talking with Tessa. I guess wasn't so alone anymore.

"Morning Josephine" Jean said as she sat down next to me. I smiled in response, waving slightly with the hand that my fork was in.

"What classes do you have?" Tessa asked me from the opposite side of the table, two seats down. Tessa was a nice girl, she had black hair, blue eyes and preferred the name "Sage", but her mutation was fascinating; she was able to 'see' a person's genetic code, reading complex DNA sequences for latent and manifested mutations, thereby allowing her to sense mutants and, in many cases, understand how their powers work more thoroughly than they themselves do. After analyzing the DNA of another mutant, Sage was able to selectively evolve their existing genetic traits as well as catalyze the untapped genetic potential of latent mutants. Once begun, the procedure is irreversible and can often result in unpredictable side effects. Sage was also a mutant with incredible advanced intellectual capabilities, her mind works in the same way a computer with unlimited storage capacity does only much faster and without losing the particular complex processing capabilities of the human brain. She was able to perform several mental functions at once without losing focus on any of them. Her mind allows her to instantly recall specific information with incredible speed and accuracy. She was able to store everything that she experiences in a photographic memory and retrieve it immediately without the typical human pause for thought. The speed of her thoughts augments her analytical ability so that she is able to make snap decisions about her surroundings and create complex scenarios at high speed. Sage is able to track the probability of an event by piecing together stored data, and is able to perform multiple tasks at once by allocating a portion of her brain to each task. She was one of the most fascinating people I've had the chance of reading.

I pulled out my schedule from my bag and handed it to her. As she examined it I turned to Jean.

"Have you seen the papers?" I asked. Her eyebrows furrowed and she shook her head. Reaching into my bag again I pulled out the paper Peter had brought me the previous night.

Warren looked at it over her shoulder. "Oh yeah, kids have already started coming up missing." He said with mouthful of cereal pointing at it. "Read the article underneath." He added as he swallowed.

As Jean's eyes scanned the words underneath I went to go put my dishes away and upon my return Sage handed me my schedule back.

"I put a dot next to the classes we have together." She said and I nodded.

"Hey Josie, you said your sisters name is Lorna?" Jean asked, not looking up from the paper.

"Yeah?..." I picked up my bag instead of sitting back down, about to head off to my first class.

"She's on the list." She said in a quiet voice, holding the paper up a little. I took it from her and the table fell silent as they watched me. It wasn't a rude gesture, just sympathetic.

just like she had said, there it was, Lorna Dane on the list of maybe thirty or forty kids' names. It took all I had not to completely shred the paper in my hands.

"Excuse me" I said to the group as I turned on my heels and walked out. I moved at a half jog half walk through the hallways and up stairs with only one destination in mind. I rapped my knuckles on the door, bouncing up and down out of nerves. Once I got the go ahead I opened the door and was the first to speak.

"Can I get the day off?" I asked quickly.

Professor Xavier was looking at with slight surprise which was curious.

"Actions should not be carried out by anger." He told me, putting the pen he currently held in his hand in the container.

He was right. I wasn't scared or worried- I was pissed. Pissed at my parents for letting something like this happen.

"Just one day, please." I begged. "You of all people know this isn't a small one-time thing. I just need to talk to my family"

He sighed "I'm going to trust you Josephine" He said and I smiled.

"Thank you so much" I said as I half ran out of his office. once I shut his door I took off at a full sprint to my dorm.

I dropped my bag on my bed, grabbed my jacket and keys and ran down the hall again nearly colliding with Sage.

"Where ya going Josie?" She asked

"To go have a lovely chat with family" I said and she smiled at me approvingly.

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A/N: Haha! Another successful update! I hope you all liked it! If you did please hit me up on that favorite or tell me through a comment! I really do love getting feedback from you guys, even the little stuff goes a long way!

Question time again! whose the one superhero (who doesn't already have a movie or hasn't been in one) that you'd want to see make it to the silver screen the most?

Hugs and butterfly-kisses

-em


	9. Chapter 9: Moms

So do you remember that old quote from the play write William Congreve? The one that goes: "hell hath no fury like a woman scorn"? Well it's safe to assume that he nailed it on the head with that one. I was quietly fuming as I made my way home. Since I do have my license, but have no car I had to take an array of uncomfortable busses and pay this one cab like fifty dollars to take me the rest of the way there ... lets just say that those situations didn't really help with my mood.

No one was home when I got there so I decided to stake it out on the couch in the living room. I was there for maybe a good ten minuets, enjoying the silence until I heard the door open and the sound of keys. The figure of my mom stood in the door frame to the living room as she took off her coat. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw me lounging on the sofa.

"Hey" I said with a slight smile, amused by her reaction.

"Y-you're back?" she asked in a shaky voice, wringing her hands out of nerves She stood with a tight posture.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded in a calm tone, pulling my feet off the coffee table and leaning my elbows on my knees.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes flitting around. I rolled my eyes. She's always been a terrible liar. Although, I guess certain mutations do have their social advantages.

"Please don't act stupid because I know you're not." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose, shaking my head.

"They took her" she said in a whisper, not meeting my eyes. Susanna has always been skittish around me, but it's never been this bad.

"Where, Susanna?" I said and she winced at my use of her first name.

"I don't know" she said in a frantic voice. "Arnold found out-" she said this part more to herself, but I spoke up.

"Found out what?" she looked up at me now, obviously gaining more confidence.

"Lorna is only your half sister" She it said like it was building up inside her for a long time. A silence fell over the room creating a thick atmosphere and my chest tightened.

She looked to almost be in tears. "I'm so sorry Josie" she whispered again.

"Whose her father?" I asked. She just shook her head as the tears that had welled up in her eyes cascaded down her cheeks.

I stood, snatching up my jacket and I started to walk out pausing right in front of her.

"If she's hurt- even a little scratch" I said in a low voice, putting my face inches from hers. "you best hope you can run" I finished, storming out, smiling at the cheesiness of my words but I thought it was effective.

My family has three cars one my mothers, the other is obviously my fathers and the third one was intended for me, but they shipped me off so I guess they figured I wouldn't need it. Well now I needed it.

I know they say never to drive angry, but I can make an exception for now. I wasn't as furious as I was earlier, I had let time cool that one off. I just had to find my sister... Family is kind of an obligation, ya know?

I knocked on the green door in front of me and was greeted by a certain redhead. Wanda was upset and I an urge to read her, but I etch ought better of it and decided not to.

"Josephine?" Wanda said. I frowned slightly, usually I got a smile accompanied by a hug from my enthusiastic friend.

"Pete home? I asked, shrugging off her weird greeting and mood.

She bit her lip shifting her weight. "Maybe right now is not a good time." She said and I tilted my head. I've never been denied entrance to the Maximoff household before.

"Is everything okay?" I asked with concern trying to peer over her shoulder.

To answer my question somewhere in the house I heard a crash and two-sided shouting accompanying it. Wanda cringed and too the opportunity to slip past her, ducking under her arm and making my way toward the source of the noise.

The majority of my childhood had been spent in this house with these people, so their problems felt like mine. walking into the kitchen I stopped when I saw Magda (their mother) leaning her back on the counter with her arms crossed and was Peter pacing back and forth at a human speed.

"Because You just can't" she said and her gaze flicked over to me, stopping her in mid-sentence.

Peter noticed this and turned his head to see what she was looking at. when he saw me he started to walk out toward me, snagging my elbow. I followed close behind.

"Is everything okay?" I asked once we were outside.

"Yeah, everything's fine- what are you doing out?" He asked.

"Family stuff" I replied shrugging, he smiled at the answer I always gave when it came to my personal issues.

"Lorna?" he assumed and I nodded.

"What do you know about all that?" I asked and I saw something flicker in his expression. "Peter.." I warned.

He sighed. "I need to go see Charles" he said finally.

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Hey guys! Sorry for the short chapter! anywho I want to say a big thanks to everyone who has commented, it really helps me know if you guys like it and what I could do better. Also I'm going on vacation next Saturday (I'll defently have another chapter of two out by then) In case I forget to tell you guys Now you know! I'm going to Hawaii :D

Also a disclaimer: I own none of the characters except for Josephine. yes that means even the tiniest characters belong to marvel! :)

Question of the day: if you had any mutation, what would it be and why?


	10. Chapter 10: The Rubber Ball

I sat outside the professors office laying in a rather ungraceful manor on a chair in the corridor. Don't ask me how I did it, but I had managed to find a rubber ball on our trip here and was tossing it at the intersection of the wall and ceiling and catching it. I have always seemed to have knack for finding the stupidest things in the most mundane places and boy was I glad of that ability now.

A couple of kids had walked by, giving me a curious look which read more like a 'what the hell?' look. "Yeah, yeah, just keep goin'" I said hurling the ball above their heads and catching it when it came back. They have me a weird look but they did keep going. There are no questions that need to be asked when a person is seen tossing a bouncy ball all alone whilst sprawled on a couch- chair- thing in a hallway.

Every once in awhile I would hear small snippets or phrases from the other room, but for the most part I was bored out my mind... a common theme that I've found myself in recently.

Just as I tossed my ball again but just as I did so the door opened and freaking Peter shot his hand up and caught it. I narrowed my eyes at the silvery haired fun-ruiner and he just smiled.

"Your turn." He said. And I looked surprised.

"My turn?" I asked as I pointed at myself and he rolled his eyes at me as my answer. What on earth could I say or know that could help with this situation?

Without anymore questions I stood up and waltzed into Charles's office. "you wanted me?" I asked standing there rocking back and forth on my feet.

"Your sister is in Arizona." He told me rather abruptly.

I blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, but why is my sister on the other side o the country?" I asked, slightly stunned by this. "Is she safe?" I added as my heart rate stared to pick up a bit.

"Lorna among with countless other mutant children whose mutations have not manifested yet been relocated there." He explained watching me carefully to monitor my reaction.

The thing about family is that you have a moral obligation to them. I've never been that close to my sister to the point of dropping everything and sprinting to Arizona from here but I can say that I do care about her. She's only seven and she doesn't know all of the evils of the world yet. I didn't particularly want her to know them anytime soon either. The reason I do drop everything when I first found out she was gone is because of what my parents let happen. You see, I don't like it when people don't follow rules... Set in stone or just implied, rules are rules and the number one rule of patenting is to protect your kids. You can say she was kidnapped but I know my parents. They let it happen on purpose.

"The reason I called you in is because I need you to decide what to do." Charles went on. "I have faith in you. You are not the only one effected by this, not in the slightest, but you've done well in training and I'm willing to let you take this one" he said and I lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Really?" I asked, inwardly doing a happy dance and felt a bit anxious to go already.

"Really" he confirmed smiling at my enthusiasm. As I turned to go he stopped me. "Trust, Dane" he said "don't forget about trust." I nodded still smiling and walked out to find a rather entranced looking Peter.

"Where'd you find this anyway?" he asked holding up my ball. I snatched it and tossed it as hard as I could down the hallway which prompted Peter to go all speedy on me and catch it in the blink of an eye and appear next to me with an accompanying gust of wind.

"Road trip?" he asked, balancing up on his toes in an anticipating manor with a big old stupid grin plastered on his face that was uncannily similar to the one I had just moments ago.

I started to walk past him, reaching up and ruffling his silvery locks as I did. "you bet" I said folding my hands into the pockets on my sweater.

Although I was no SHIELD agent, I still felt like I had permission to feel thoroughly badass. No, that didn't mean I put on a black suit and tie and tossed in a pair of sunglasses... it only meant the sunglasses part which Peter ended up stealing right off of my face whilst I was driving somewhere on route 70 almost getting out of Ohio. Lets just say I'm not the only one with a speeding problem in my car right now.

"So what was the deal with your family back there?" I asked now that I had him in an enclosed space and he couldn't bail on me.

The ghost of a smile that always seemed to adorn his face vanished instantaneously and I knew I had hit a nerve.

"Legal issues" he said after being sure to squeeze in a real awkward silence, well it was more like a guilt filled silence and it lasted a solid minute.

I was used to that answer by now. Police and related officials constantly showed up at Peter's door and yet, they'd never actually done anything beyond give a reprimand to a crime they weren't even sure he had committed. This, however, wasn't the same ordeal.

"How so?" I asked taking the bait to the 'use a small worded answer so you need to ask questions' ploy that he was using.

He looked apprehensive about telling me, but he told me anyway. "my mom got called in to a police interrogation." It really hurt to see him so sullen. it wasn't normal for him.

"What for?!" I said in a half shout, nearly slamming the breaks.

"Jesus Josephine, aren't you a certified driver?" he asked as a reaction to me nearly loosing my cool on the road.

"Yes! I _do_ have my freaking license, now don't change the subject. you said your mom was interrogated?... Why!" I asked shooting him a quick look.

"The government found out her previous relation to this guy." He said and I narrowed my eyes again because now I needed to ask just _who_ this guy was.

"Do elaborate... who I this guy." I said adding a touch of annoyance to my voice.

"My dad" he said. watching me carefully for my reaction.

Now it was time for me to pull off the road. when I did I looked at him with what was probably a really stupid gape on my face.

"Your dad? holy shi- what the hell kind of a person is he to get your mom interrogated?" I demanded, turning in my seat so I could look at him properly.

"Yeah, apparently we've met" his inflection dripping with dry humor. "and we'll definitely be meeting again shortly."

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A/N: hey guys! I'm soooooooooo sory for the wait! But my excuse is because I wrote this chapter on a beach in Hawaii! I love you guys so much! thanks for the reviews and follows! you all are so cool!

Question time! Would you join the brotherhood and fight for mutant rights or join the x-men and fight for what **they **think is right?

I would go xmen but I appreciate the brotherhoods intent at times.


	11. Chapter 11: Refuge

Before we had left I had managed to get ahold of locations and names that I could trust. More and more mutants are discriminated against, refused into hotels, restaurants and just about any place they could segregate. It's like America had fallen back to the fifties. We had been refused by more than three places. apparently they still had mutant honing devices. It pissed me off, but what could I do?

The place where I had parked outside of was probably the sketchiest place I have ever been to. It looked like an abandoned gas station except there were no pumps and it had way more square feet than your usual circle K.

I sat there for a few seconds deciding if I wanted to die today or not with my mouth slightly gaping. But this was the only place I knew was safe and would accept us.

"Well I'm going in" Peter said as he opened and stepped out.

I could see people in side the sketchy place, lights indoors shown through the windows and flooded on the grass like waterfalls so I knew it wasn't abandoned like a first glance might suggest.

Swearing under my breath I got out, pulling the keys out of the ignition and stowed them in my pocket.

"Are you sure about this place?" I asked but before he could say anything a girl walked up to us.

She seemed to be around twenty, but she was petite and she had shoulder length layered light mocha brown hair that was as straight as a ruler. She walked up to us at a slightly faster pace and then stopped to examine us.

"You guys lost?" she asked, leaning on her hip as she did so. It almost sounded like she had a slight Puerto Rican accent which surprise me.

"Kinda?" I said, not really sure how to answer. She paused again to look at us with scrutinizing eyes.

"Come on." She said finally, nodding with her chin as a sign to follow her. As we walked toward the place I had to force myself not to act nervous,but i couldn't help but fiddle with my cardigan, wrapping it tighter around me. Being an empath meant I could tell Peter couldn't give a care in the world to the current situation and I have to admit, I was kind of jealous.

"What are your names?" The girl asked when we were nearly upon the porch that led to the entrance. Her tone was cold but inquisitive. I could read her past and let me say, it wasn't very pretty.

"Josephine" I said absentmindedly and Peter gave his.

"I'm Tori."

She said as she opened the door for us standing back to let us in first, the door was a lot bigger than her and even me, with peeling paint and water damage. I pushed Peter in first and he gave me a look which basically called me a pansy.

Inside there were dozens of people. I took in a sharp breath. My brain was on overload because of the sheer number of people in such a close vicinity. I had to squeeze my eyes shut just to gain some kind of mental footing, it was almost like I could hear their thoughts scrambling inside my head. A huge man that I could only compare to an ent because of his massive trunk like arms and heavy built physique. He walked up to us smiling when he saw Tori.

"Who'd you find there?" He asked, his voice booming even at a normal talking level.

"A telepath and a really fast guy." I smiled to myself and saw Peter frown at her words. My smile disappeared when I went over what she had said in my mind.

"Telepath?.. no, just an empath" I corrected but I quickly shut my mouth when I saw the look on her face that she was shooting at me. "Sorry" I said quickly.

"Both mutants?" He asked apprehensively seeming to have ignored what I said and she nodded. "Then welcome!" He boomed adding a slight laugh while stretching his arms out. "Who are you running from?... Family, the cops?"

"More like running to" I corrected, starting to feel a little more at ease with the mans genuine nature and huge personality. "My sister was taken." I added when he was waiting for me to elaborate.

He nodded in an understanding manor. "yeah the MRA are getting more and more serious. It died down for awhile, but you know what they say: all good things must end." He finished with another deep chuckle.

"What is this place?" Peter asked pivoting on his feet to get a good look around looking rather like a meerkat on high alert.

"Someplace safe." Tori said before the man could. "Like he said, its getting bad out there." I liked her spunk, her accent definitely helped with that whole persona. "We got a few extra cots in the back if you're looking for a place to stay." She added jerking her chin again and uncrossing her arms and began to walk off.

I stood there for a second until it was Peter's turn to push me onward. The building was bigger than I thought it was with dozens of rooms that were all occupied with what I could tell were families with kids were found in the back along with single person cots in the main room; the one that we had entered first. A lot of people looked miserable wrapped in blankets and glaring my way when I passed by, others were chatting or helping others. It was easy to see and predict the history of every person by their outward appearance and attitude alone even without a mutation to tell you that. The whole place felt like a Red Cross disaster shelter the only big difference was the vast illegality of it all.

I was still rather awkward and nervous around these people even twenty minutes later. Now sitting on the cot that I had been assigned in the corner with my knees up to my chest and my arms wrapped around them I was staring at my feet. I was beginning to realize the magnitude of the whole thing. With people around me in tears, hungry, tired and in hiding because they were scared because the world they grew up in now wants to shut them out entirely or eradicate them.

With the Trask incident that had almost been a catastrophe to the mutant population narrowly avoided, most of us thought we were safe. Now we had a new rising of hate and opposition.

I sat there for a long time, consumed in a jumble of misconnecting thought until I felt someone sit down next to me. Their weight making the cot sink and I nearly toppled over onto them.

"Hanging in there?" I heard Peter say and I sighed heavily in response. He chuckled a little bit.

"How are you fine!" I demanded looking up now. "I mean how can you act like this-" I said gesturing all around with a wild hand. "-is nothing!"

"Geeze Josephine, you really don't use your mutation a lot do you?"

"You made me promise" I said quietly after pausing awhile looking back down at my feet. From the corner of my eye I could see his face fall in remembrance.

I looked up at him with a light smirk on my lips.

"Those kind of things are important to me."

His arm snaked around my waist this time making me slink down because of the divot his weight made on the cot. nonetheless I sighed and relaxed next to him. I felt him press his lips to my temple.

"Don't think you're the only one with important things kid" I heard him say softly into my hair.

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A/N:I can't tell you how excited I am for this story you guys give it so much love! You guys rock! Thanks to Lara Pendragon and for reviewing last chapter!

Question! SHIELD (strategic homeland intervention enforcement logistics decision) or SWORD? (sentient world observation response department) in other words; earth crime or space crime? Lol

For me I like SHIELD, mostly cause of the black widow... she's cool.


	12. Chapter 12: Cover Blown

Chapter twelve

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I had only planned to stay the night, but it was soon apparent that the original game plan wasn't going to turn out the way I had I first intended it to. We actually ended up staying a couple of days. I came to really like those who were here and besides, we really had no choice on the matter. It was too risky, even to be on the highway right now and aslo the people here needed help and we had the means of giving it to them. As a result, I got to learn a lot of people's names and histories here and let it be known none of them were that squeaky clean.

On the third day thats we were there, I found myself outside in the back where some of the newcomers had settled in tents due to the crowdedness inside of the building. I just wandered around, helping wherever they needed me.

I was kneeling in front of a little girl who was no older than seven with light honey hair that was pulled up out of her face. I was still hesitant to use my mutation on others out if respect for their privacy, but I usually just looked at their names abilities and touchy subjects I needed to avoid with them. I learned her name was Rachel and that she was indeed seven. The peculiar thing about her was her eyes: one of them was and intriguing mint green color with brown flecks around the center and the other was a normal brown. I think they call it heterochromia.

She sat on a bench watching me examine her wrist which was bruised an awful sickly green color with splotches of blues and browns. When I first touched it gingerly I took in a sharp breath of air and shut my eyes tightly. I saw images and small snippets of what had happened to Rachel and her family. I swore under my breath so she wouldn't hear, my mutation was so confusing, even to me. Doing things or showing me things without warning, it was starting to drive me insane. I had to let go of her wrist momentarily because I had felt a sharp stabbing pain in my wrist as I saw the past events. She had fallen on her wrist while getting away. Apparently their town had somehow gained detail on all of our kind that were housed in the area and quite literally mobbed them.

"What's your name?" I asked trying to avert her mind from the matter. She had looked at me curiously when I had flinched and rubbed my own wrist but I saw her shrug that off.

"Rachel" she said, her voice was small and child like reflecting her tiny stature.

"Rachel?... and how old are you Rachel? I asked as ignored myself and wrapped her own wrist as gently as I could, but I could still see her wince a couple of times. It wasn't broken, only bruised which is to me seemed like a miracle.

"Seven" she said quietly, making me smile.

"Well then Rachel who is seven, I honestly do think that you'll make it this time" I said putting my hands on my hips. "I mean we didn't quite have to amputate..." I told her in a very serious manor, holding up her wrist to examine it again.

She smiled brightly, laughing at my expression and pulled her arm from my grasp and hopped down from her perch and ran off to find her parents.

Chuckling as I stood and still rubbing my own wrist which no longer hurt, I looked over to my right to see the silver haired cocky bastard leaning on one of the cement pillars that precariously held the entire outer structure up with his arms crossed over his chest. He had definitely been there awhile.

"It's rude to stare you know" I said, chucking a towel I had with the first aid kit at him. He caught it before it hit its trajectory and he was about to open his mouth to say something when Tori came up to me first. I could sense the fear that was stirring within her and I decided to let her tell me what was wrong instead of looking for myself.

Tori had a habit of placing her hand on either the shoulder or upper arm of a person before she spoke to them, so I didn't see her approach me, I only felt her.

When I finally looked over at her I could see the panic and fear in the eyes of someone whom it was rarely seen on.

"They're coming." She told me in a harsh whisper, after I had walked a few paces back with her to give us some privacy from prying eyes and ears.

It didn't surprise me that she elected to tell me first. Mike, the large man who had greeted me upon my first arrival here, must have been out at the moment. And most of the people here were refugees and even though the majority of them were adults or teenagers they still needed a stronger force to help them out. Myself and a few others had naturally fallen into that duty.

She didn't need to say anything more. I flicked my eyes up up to the nearly thirty people that were scattered around out here and knew a lot was going to be unstable here in the next few moments.

"Get everyone in?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. I follow Tori's word in these situations due to her built up experience over my own. She nodded and I was about to go round up the masses before she stopped me.

"I got this, go board everything up" she said and I nodded after pausing a breif moment to process what she had said, taking off in a near sprint to the indoors.

We've been over situations like this before, but it's never needed to be acted upon. My heart was racing and I had focus off my task so I wouldn't freak out entirely. I knew there was someone coming. I trusted Tori's word.

I stood frozen inside now, looking out at the large crowd. I had to shut down the power which turned out the lights. Weaving through people I flipped the switch on the power box. People began stirr in a low panic and there was a buzz in my head like angered bees and I resisted the urge to cover my ears because I knew it would do no good. I shut and bolted windows and doors, but I knew it would do very little. We are probably going to die here and there was nothing I could do.

"Josephine!" I heard Peter say loudly, after I had stopped in the middle of the room. His words snapped me out of my thoughts like someone pouring icy water on a grey and washed out dream. Apparently he had been saying my name, trying to get my attention for a while.

I looked over at him with the helplessness still in my eyes. "What" I asked lamely.

He never got to tell me for the second time today because his words were cut off by an explosion.

The force of the blast had knocked me off my feet and had thrown me up and back a few yards and slammed against the wall. My arms were tossed up and around my head trying to coushin the impact. The heat was stifling and there was a sharp high pitched ringing in my ears from the blast.

People around me were screaming and struggling to get their feet. I felt arms pulling my dazed and heavy body up and words being shouted at me, but the world was still in a thick haze of slow motion.

Dozens of men in black bulletproof vests and matching uniforms entered through the smoke and the torched gaping hole that was now in the wall. They moved low shouting more drowned out orders that no one really heard. They had guns trained on those who were now trying to aid those around them who were bloodied and burned on the ground, myself included.

The arms that were pulling me up and the voice that was commanding me started telling me to move and pushing me forward, telling me that I had to move or else I was going to do die.

I eventually found my legs again and was able to stand, forcing them to move in a stiff and painful manor. Gun shots were fired just as I did so, making me duck agains in a pitiful way to try and doge wharever was coming my way. I started to move in a half crouch position with the person who had pulled me up guiding me lightly with a hand on my back. We almost made it to to the door when one gun shot in particular made the person next to me collapse almost immediately.

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A/N: hey lovely people! I'm back from Hawaii and ready to start pumping out some more content!

Alright so no random question today folks but my question to you all is do you like this so far? Is there anything that makes you groan and skip? Anything you feel could have been done Differently? I really do count on your opinions! Which characters do you like? Which ones do you not like? Are there any major plot holes you guys see? I need your help writing this! We can do it together Cause just one voice in the writing process usually doesn't turn out all that good.

I've reached that writing point with this story when you start doubting everything you do.

a super special shout out to IKhandoZatman, Lara Pendragon and the three guests that commented on the last chapter!


	13. Chapter 13: Man Down

I was dragged down with the weight of the person who was now using me as an aid.

_Focus_, I told my self sternly. _Get a freaking grip and help people_. I had to manually pull the foggy veil from my brain and eyes, but upon doing so, I got a chance to look at the person beside me.

I had never seen Tori in such a vulnerable state before. She was curled up on the ground on her side, blacked out but still breathing.

"Shit" I hissed under my breath. I leaned over her, my hand placed lightly on her back so I could gingerly move her shoulders, trying to find what had brought her down. I frowned when I didn't find anything wrong. "You're okay" I told her when I saw her eyes start to flutter, my voice tightening. "Everything's alright," but when I pulled my hand away from her back I shut my eyes. I knew my words where too soon as I was saying them.

It's fascinating, to me, just how thick blood feels when it coats your fingers. But if you think about it, I'd say its good that you know what it is once you feel it.

From the common knowledge I had and the minute medical skill that I "possessed", I knew that damn bullet had either hit her left lung or was really darn close.

My heart rate picked up instantly and so did my breathing. Hot tears clouded my vision but I wiped them away quickly and angrily with the Back of my hand.

"No no no Tori, come on. You have to get up" I said with panic, trying to get her to her feet.

I had to double-take the person who had rushed past me. I shot my hand out grabbing their wrist. "Chris!" The mutant stopped in his tracks.

He looked down at me, seemingly surprised to see me there. "Josephine? what are you doing, we have to go!" He said, now trying to get me to follow the masses by hoisting me up by my shoulders, but I struggled to push myself out of his grip.

"No!... Christopher Muse, you let me go right now!" I said loudly over the chaos of the place ripping myself harshly from him and I sank back down, placing a hand on Tori's shoulder to see if she had stopped breathing in the few seconds I had taken my attention from her.

He stopped for a moment to see what my fuss was all about.

"You gotta help her." I said looking up at him helplessly then back to Tori. I brushed her hair out of her eyes with my thumb.

You see, Christopher was one of those people I mentioned earlier that had taken up the mantle of being a leader. I knew he'd help, I knew he could heal.

I watched him bend down and pick her up, I moved away so I wasn't blocking him. He turned to me. "Get out of here kid." He said "I got her" I nodded and got up. Pushing my way through the crowd again.

Looking around, I saw people being tackled to the ground with some kind of mutation suppressant and mild sedative shot into their bloodstream by the darts some of the men had.

_Kid..._ My mind was drifting to what Chris had said.

_Peter! _I look frantically over the tops of the heads in the crowd, which was rather difficult given I was a bit vertically challenged: at only 5' 5" a lot of the people here were taller than me. The acrid smell of smoke hit my nose and throat with a stinging thickness and I nearly choked on the air around me. A pyrokenetic must have tried to used their mutation in some poorly executed last ditch effort to get away.

I was swept up in a current of frantic people who were rushing to get to the back door, but to my relief I felt the familiar blast of air rushing past me and nearly knocking me over.

"Peter!" I cried and I saw him pause a few feet away, looking at me over the heads that stood between us. He was standing in the back of the huge crowd. Those that were left behind the human school of fish were pinned to the floor in handcuffs or were laying motionless surrounded by the one vital liquid that runs through their veins.

"Josie get everyone out" I heard him shout at me. And I tore my eyes from what was behind him and locked onto his for a fraction of a second.

That's when I saw the dart hit his neck before he could even react. Time seemed to stand still for what seemed like and eternity and my knees almost have out. I could only hear the pounding of my heart inside my chest and when I found my feet, instantly I was pushing my way through the crowd to get to him.

For the second time today I was stopped by someone's arms. I could tell it was Mike right away from his sheer size. "Don't even try, Josie." He warned, but I fought against his grip anyway as I watched those goddamn black-suited assholes literally swarm Peter's collapsed body.

"No no, stop! please!" I shouted still trying to pry myself way. Mike merely held me there like a kid holding a newly caught firefly or moth.

"We gotta go." He boomed at me. For the love of all that is good, I know that we have to go! People seriously needed to stop telling me this... I got the message already.

But I wouldn't go, so instead of trying to persuade me into it, Mike just sighed and hoisted me over his shoulder instead, having to carry me out of the building.

Once I was set back on my feet I looked back at the burning building, only getting a few seconds to do so until I was shoved forward

"Get out of here" Mike yelled at me. And it took a few repetitions of that sentence to actually get me to do it.

I took off in a full sprint towards the coniferous forest that was just outside. Ducking under branches pushing though the needles on the the pines I felt the vegetation rip at my skin like thousands of pin-like claws.

From the corner of my eye I could see others running beside me, but they were trapped inside their own world of terror and paid no attention to my presence.

I heard one word in my head that wasn't my own. There.

I heard the sound of something soaring through the air at eye-watering speeds and saw the woman who was running about ten feet away to my right come crashing down, hitting her head on a protruding rock.

Others around me also saw this and their panic was buzzing through my mind, infecting my own fear like a lethal parasite.

I tried to speed up but I was no Peter. I knew I couldn't hide, couldn't outrun them. The fear that overcomes you when your corners in a sense and probably about to die is extreme. It's the kind of fear that stops our whole body from moving, making it freeze and refuse to move at all. You'd think that adrenalin would prevent that but I guess our bodies fail us sometimes.

I also have to mention my irrational fear of needles, so the dart that sunk deeply into my calf caused a near panic attack before I sunk into a deep and quiet blackness.

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A/N: hey guys I'm really sorry for that delay! I'm seriously so jet-lagged from coming back. It's harder to go to later timezone than an earlier one cause you stay up later. the other day I was up till five. I watched the freaking sun start to come up! Anyway, forget my rambling, its question time!

Batman or Spider-Man?

Now if we're talking about the movies I LOVE the dark knight trilogy, but I also really like the new amazing Spider-Man movies too. (don't worry, no spoilers from the new movie if you haven't seen it!) but when it comes down to it I like Batman's villains more and Spider-Man as a character more. What do you guys think?

Let me know!

Also vote, favorite, comment, fan or what ever you do.

Hugs and butterfly kisses

Em

a shout out to the wonderful IKhandoZatman for being the only person to comment last chapter!

Come on my people! Let your voices ring throughout the comment section. (:


	14. Chapter 14: Single and Solitary

I know what it feels like to be drugged. That thick and heavy slowness of your body that makes you almost incapable of doing anything productive. At least, not until even the smallest bit of it is out of your system.

The whole world sounded like I was in a bubble that was floating on the ocean. I could hear people around me, but I couldn't distinguish any specific voices.

Everything happened like it was one of those cliche crime dramas, when the person gets the crude black bag that was obscuring their view hastily ripped off of their head. The light hurt, and my groggy eyes didn't help tone down the intenseness of it all either. I had to squeeze them shut just to get the uncomfortable thickness out of them and get adjusted to the light.

The person who was standing behind me, the one who had yanked me from the darkness my vision was encased in, walked around to stand in front of me.

He was tall and wore a rather tattered looking dark blue suit. He had a grisseled completion and obviously hadn't cared much for his own appearance lately.

I realized at that moment that I had a choice: either to let my fear consume my conciseness, or to just shut it all out and to give this guy hell. I sighed internally, I was tired of giving in to others. I guess I could play whatever little game this guy was planning.

"Morning sunshine." The man said leaning in real close and bearing his teeth in an awful smile at me. It took a lot not to cough at the rancid breath that was blown into my face.

To my surprise, I could read this guys emotions and file, but my face must have given something away.

"You're no threat with your mutation" he said lazily, making me narrow my eyes. "In all reality, you're just a psychic. What are you gonna do, dazzle me with my past?" He sneered. I said nothing. Really, there was nothing I could say that would make him shut his damn mouth without sounding like an idiot.

His name's Marcus, people call him Kyle though which made me want to laugh. I mean come on... it is a pretty stupid nickname after all.

"Now, we're gonna have a little chat." Marcus said sitting down in the solitary chair that was across from mine in this dank little cubical of a room. "We're not gonna have a problem with you like we did with your friend over there, are we?" I ignored his comment even though I knew he wasn't bluffing.

"I'm only asking this once." He said and I was quick to spit back a retort.

"I'm only answering once" I said sitting stiffly, glaring at him straight in the eye.

I saw the corner of his lip twitch upward and he shifted in his chair so he was leaning on his knees, inches from my face. I held my ground and I did not flinch as I struggled to maintain a steady breath.

"Where are your other little freak-show friends." He said in a low, quiet voice. was he talking about the people that got away? Because if so, I have no idea.

"I don't know" I said quietly, still not moving my gaze because the second I did so, I would be giving in to him and I didn't want to do that. "You'll have to be more specific." I added, tilting my chin up slightly in a pompous way.

He slammed down something and ripped me from my chair, dragging me half by my shirt and half by my hair. He walked around a wall that seemed to act as a divider creating small little cubical rooms in a huge space. On the other side of the divider was a door with a small window. He stopped me and we stood there struggling for a few moments until he had me in a hold that pinned my arms down and allowed him access to a fist full of my hair.

"Look" he snarled as I tried any desperate attempt to leave his grasp. "I said look dammit!" He hissed into my ear forcing my head to the glass by my hair.

I stopped struggling for long enough to see what he wanted me to see and I could stop the cry that passed my lips when I saw the already hurt Tori cut bruised and mangled in a corner.

"We got your little leaders" he said into my ear again. "They're around four or five of you?" He said more like a statement than a question, licking his lips out of what seemed like habit. "Where are your other hideouts little missy?" He repeated his question from earlier and I couldn't help myself from pointing that out.

"Thought you were only gonna ask that once" I said barely in a whisper. And I saw something flash in his eyes read it through my mutation as rage, but he calmed it quickly.

I ended up being dragged again down a new hallway. After awhile I stopped fighting. It made it harder for him because he had to drag my full weight.

I was eventually thrown into what first glance had told me was cell. Single and solitary.

Now that's when the whole cliche crime drama stops, because usually they say some snarky comment and then slam the huge wrot iron door, but Marcus did none of that. He just left.

I had landed on my hip, it wasn't broken, but it would definitely leave one of those nasty melted-crayon box colored bruises. I pushed myself up, swearing a rather colorful melted-crayon box array of profanities. Looking around I saw my cell was only occupied by myself, but I was not the only cell in the area. Others were watching me with sadness on their faces, piled in their own cells with three or four to a small space. Sometimes they got their own, but I only saw one person by themselves as well.

I curled up tightly, trying to ignore the looks I was getting when I felt something hit my foot. It was small, but it got my attention. I stopped it with my hand. smiling slightly when my fingers curled around that stupid little bright green bouncy ball that I had entertained myself with a few days back.

* * *

I am awful. I'm so sorry I didn't update for awhile!

Question of the day: who do you think would Josephine would be cast as? I'm curious to see what you guys see her as. Oh and for all those wonderin just where the heck the romance is in this story you must be patient young grasshopper! Good things come to those who wait!

Now for a new segment! The prize segment!

The honorary X-man title goes to those who have favorited or followed this month so far: Candyluver2121, Ivy Belle, neverAlone3665, the swan queen, and zebrazoe.

Then the title of omega-level mutant goes to the reviewers of last chapter: guest 1,2, &3, IKhandoZatman and LilyEvens2510.

You guys rock my socks!


	15. Chapter 15: The Circus Master

I was leaning agains the fantastically cool metal bars of my prison, my head resting on the steel. I looked up slowly to meet the eyes of the person that I was expecting to see. His appearance was utterly disheveled, a trail of blood was drying on the collar of his rather dusty and dirty shirt and jacket ensemble from the rather thick-headed dart that had got his neck. I returned the smile halfheartedly.

_You okay?_ Peter mouthed at me as he tilted his head, reminding me of a curious puppy. I wanted to hit him upside the head, but our distance was an issue.

_Of course I'm not okay_. I mouthed back with my eyebrows knitted together, but he only grinned at me. I shook my head against the bars looking down, not being able to keep a small smile from my own lips.

_How long? _I asked eventually.

_A day... two._ He replied wavering his hand in the air to indicate the time was a rough estimate.

At least now I knew he was okay and not being poked and prodded off on some crazy scientists lab table. Nonetheless that kind of thing: a simple smile was contagious, especially at a time and place such as this.

He was technically next to my own little cage, one of the guards pathways was what was between us. Even though I was leaning on the side closest to him the walkway created an even bigger gap than if he were on my left. I watched him do a kind of shuffle-scoot over to the bars closest to me and that was when I realized his wrists were bound not in the usual crude cloth or zip-ties I had seen on various people, but actual chains.

_Why?_ I mouthed again, too afraid to make any actual vocal sounds. He shrugged, but I knew that he had an idea as to why he was deemed "dangerous" enough to get chains. Not the great thick ones you would see restraining Grawp the giant, but they still made me pissed.

"How do we get out of this Josie?" He said in barely a whisper after a long silence during which I had lowered my gaze.

"I don't know." Where the only words I dared to speak aloud.

"You tied?" He asked, still being as quiet as could be.

I shook my head.

"Then kick this guy's ass." He said with a fraction more of volume than I would have liked.

As if Peter were the psychic now a harsh bell rung over the vast room of imprisonment we were all held in.

Dull eyes and mechanical heads turned to the doors at the end of the way. Around ten people in crisp white uniforms walked in at a brisk pace, breaking off to go down different aisles and stopping at various cells including mine.

It was a woman at mine, she has her hair put in a very nurse-like and neat updo. She wore a white cap and kept her eyes down from mine, as though she were trying not to startle me.

"Come on, love up you go." She said leaning down to get me up. I noted her light English accent and stumbled to my feet. Like everyone else, I was confused. These people didn't seem malicious, they seemed gentle and patient.

"Where are you taking her?" I heard Peter demand, his voice urgent and stiff: the only sharp voice to cut through !the entire hall.

People in their cells shifted their gaze to him in random clusters. I froze halfway through standing and watched him as well.

"Don't you take her." He said in a warning beginning to panic, struggling with the chains that bound him. His eyes ablaze with an emotion I read through my mutation, but could not put to prober words.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked slowly, still watching Peter.

"Just come along, dear. Everything will be alright." she said kindly.

I then began to get a rotting feeling in my stomach. It didn't make sense. why take only some of us? They seemed pretty specific too.

She guided me by my arm as if she were helping a person to walk again. And Peter began shouting at her. I was obviously missing some important key here, because I didn't understand Peter's panic, but either way it still made me anxious and panicky as well.

"Take care of him please" the nurse said to a blue-vested guard as we passed him.

"No, Josephine, wait!" was the last painful thing I heard before the insulated doors were shut.

Along with the ten others, I was led at the front of a single-file line down new and better kept passageways compared to the ones I had been drug through. I was trying not to panic and was struggling to maintain a steady breath with every step I took.

"Here we are." The Nurse said smiling at me as she held a pristine white door open for me.

"What did you do with him" I asked bluntly in a low voice before I steppe a foot in that room holding up the rest of the people. I had to look down to meet her eye since she was a good three or four inches shouter than me.

"Young love never lasts dear, trust me." She tutted, patting my arm as she half shoved me in.

While her hands were still on my back I grabbed her wrists and pinned her easily to a wall because of her minuscule size, my forearm against her throat. I didn't care about the others that were behind us.

"I don't give a fuck what you have to say about relationships." I said quietly with a strenuous calm to my voice. "I didn't ask about our future together did I? I asked about where he is right now." I whispered leaning into her windpipe only slightly.

"Now now Josephine, is that anyway to treat such a kind soul?" A rather collected man said said, standing to my right.

My eye didn't move from the nurses for another five seconds while I just glared at her before I pushed her away from me and she collapsed to the ground, unharmed... for the most part. There might be a bruise or two. Turning to face the person who had spoken I was indeed greeted by a man who was in his early forties, forty-one to be exact, though he looked really good for his age.

"Who are you?" I asked stating to get tired of having to ask all these questions.

"Not an enemy." He said smoothly and I narrowed my eyes. "No really, I'm a mutant as well" He said when he saw my skepticism. Holding out his hand palm up I felt the opal ring that I always wore on my right hand be tugged off and settling nicely in his outstretched hand. "My names Eric"

* * *

A/N: hello good people! Thanks for the love!

Question of the day: who's your favorite X-man?

Mine? I've said it before, its Colossus but I also really like Iceman... mostly because he has the exact same name as my father! Robert Drake... freaky huh? But he's also a pretty good dude.

Love goes to: Oh my Batman is that Spitfire for following and favoriting and Just8Bounty6 for following!

And muchas gracias to IkandoZatman, WizardDragon and the four guests who commented

and tip of the hat to LilyEvans2510 whose comments always make me laugh!


	16. Chapter 16: Daddy Issues

"And what exactly is that supposed to meant to me?" I asked this so called "Erik" person as I crossed my arms.

"Well, I believe that you should know that answer." He said in a quiet voice, cocking an eyebrow at me and I frowned. I hated cryptic answers with a passion.

I turned my whole body to face him now, narrowing my eyes as I stood there hesitantly probing about his mind and his past, afraid of what I might find. I saw the horrors this man had seen in his life. Images of a brutally murdered family member, scenes of torture and suffering mixed with flashes of angry, scared and sorrowful emotion threatened corrupt my strictly kept rigid stature.

"Horrible, isn't it?" Erik asked with a light smirk.

"Being one who advocates for mutant rights and recognition, you sure made it clear we were welcomed." I said rather bitterly.

His sharp gaze flicked away from me to the others he had gathered and he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Like my dear Josephine so kindly pointed out, it would be safe to assume you're all wondering why you're here." He began and paused a moment as if waiting for a reply. "All if you have a close connection in some way or another to a rather dear friend of mine." I was beginning to get annoyed by the dramatics this guy was putting on. "Professor Charles Xavier." A younger boy next to me shifted rather uncomfortably on his feet.

"And what do want us to do?" I heard someone say. "kill him?" I turned my head to see a woman in her mid-twenties a few people down. she had an arrogant eyebrow raised and was leaning on her hip while she watched him.

"In a way, yes" Erik replied to my surprise and I instantly felt my stomach plunge into icy water. Their history was mutual, I mean, didn't Charles save his life once?

"Dude you're crazy." The girl said with a dismissive attitude and a cold laugh. "He's got the fucking government to trust him." She added.

"Is that so?" Erik asked "then why have you all been negated access to places deemed public? why are families afraid to let you near their children? the human race uses these false weapons to lure in those too afraid to stand for justice. What do they have that we don't?" He asked intending it to be a rhetorical question but I answered anyway.

"They have machines that target mutants only." I said

"And they have been destroyed."

"They can rebuild" I shot back bitterly. He knew arguing with a person like me would just turn into a game of tennis with no winner and only one who caves first.

I knew what he was doing. I knew that the word he used were specifically chosen to alter ones mindset and get them to follow his word rather than their own. I had toned out his whole speech on human malice and instead let my mind wander about the pasts and descriptions of those around me.

The man to the right of me apparently dropped out of high school his senior year and only until his parents knew about his mutation were they furious. A person a couple people down from me turned out to have a weird taste for grilled cheese with ranch dressing which made me want to gag. Then I saw a haze of some one I recognized in the cloud of memories and information the fogged my brain. A younger version of a the kind redhead, Magda. I knew the memories came from Erik, but I didn't want to know why and some things are best left alone. Yet once I heard Peters name get tossed in the mix I had no choice but to hesitantly probe the recently resurfaced memories.

Part of me knew it before I actually did. yeah I know that's pretty stupid to say, but it's true. Images of burning buildings and hate-filled people that mingled with happy sights of a new family, love and a baby girl began to tell a story in my mind's eye. The sounds of a screaming child echoed around my mind and where followed by the sound of a mob and a crackling fire. The man before me used to have a family; a wife and daughter, but the sudden loss of her life caused him to seek revenge and use his mutation against the humans who were responsible. When that fire had broken-out in the inn that His wife and her family were staying in, His daughter, Anya, was trapped on the upper floors and a mob of people prevented Erik from rescuing her. Enraged, Erik's powers manifested uncontrollably, killing the men holding him from reaching his Anya, as well as the crowd watching, and a large section of the city of Vinnitsa where they had stayed. Traumatized by both her daughter's death and Erik's new powers, His wife fled him, discovering months later she was pregnant again. After giving birth to the mutant twins, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, under the care of Bova Ayrshire on Wundagore Mountain, his wife fled into the wilderness, angry and scared, and soon perished in the cold. This dark and brooding man was Peter's father.

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A/N: I'm really sorry for the delay and the fact that this chapter sucked and was short but my dog, George passed away and I've taken it pretty hard. Pets can be your best fried, ya know?

I know you guys will understand and I would love to hear any comments or suggestions or even just a smiley face cause it would make me feel a bit better

-lots of love

Em


	17. Chapter 17: All Good Things

I stood alone in that same cellar of a room when everyone had eventually shuffled out. No one payed any notice to the fact that I had stayed behind, although some had given me questioning looks, I assumed they all thought I was gonna pin them to a wall too if they got too close. Which to me seems pretty stupid cause I'm only 5' 5" and that witch of a nurse was barely 5 5' 3". Seriously though, I'm really not that threatening, if anything I'm just a pain in the ass... More like a mosquito than anything.

I heard a small shifting noise behind me and I knew who it was because I could feel his smug little attitude .

"Does he know?" I asked not moving from my dark little corner, feeling pretty awesome because of the dramatic effect it created.

"Why else would he panic like he did?" Erik asked simply.

I paused for a moment contemplating his words. "You know I didn't buy all that bullshit you were force feeding down those people's throats right?" I said changing the topic suddenly and turning to see that irritating little half smile on his self-righteous spoiled annoying head.

"Believe it or not, I do have common sense you know"

"But not much moral stability." He countered, as though he thought I was some hard-ass who liked handing out bruises as if they were candy and it was Halloween. I was about to correct him on that fact until I realized the potential good his inability to read people could bring me.

"So... are you just gonna let me go?" I asked after there was a long and awkward silence.

"Most likely." He replied, folding his arms I noticed my ticket out of here in his left hand.

"And Peter?" I asked knowing full well I was pushing my luck with that one.

"Exceptions can be made." I watched him with scrutinizing eyes for any signs of falsehood in his demeanor but this guy had a poker face that would put even Lady Gaga to shame.

I walked past him slowly, there is no way in hell that I'm trusting this guy that easily. I plucked the keys from his left hand as a passed him and almost paused in the doorway, but doing that might have required that I talk with him more and I wasn't quite up for that either.

"Well that went better than I had hoped it would" I said aloud to myself as I fanned through the keys.

Now I'm no locksmith, nor am I some super awesome rebel who know how to pick locks so picking out the key I was looking for was no easy task. It was more like a game of chance.

I had followed the only passageways that I was familiar with to get to my place in mind. I'm also pretty sure I took more than one wrong turn cause the whole trip that had initially taken two or three minuets had taken me a good six or seven. I almost had to stop for directions.

I knew as soon as I stepped foot in the 'cell room' everyone would have the expectation that I was either going to hurt them or set them free. But I also knew that if I tried to get anyone else out I would get the equivalent to some mer-person at my throat with a trident telling me "only one" and to which I would reply "but their my friends too", but alas there would be no shark headed Bulgarian there I scare them off and I would have no choice but to let down the people that had looked up to me a few days ago. Although I made my actions as quiet as I could possibly make them, I still got my predicted outcome. Dull and melancholy gazes slowly turned my direction, but I pretended to take no notice and kept my eyes foreword and my pace steady. No one said a word to me as I wove through the rectangular labyrinth and the silence was almost worse, it was defining and it made my pulse rise.

I found my argentate friend doing what everyone else was doing, but his eyes light up when he saw me unlike everyone else's. I silently prayed that the key I had randomly selected would fit the lock and to my utter shock and awe it did. I noticed the sneaky bastard had already gotten out of the chains so if I had given him enough time he probably wouldn't have even needed the set of keys I had.

I can't even begin to say how thankful I was at the fact that Peter never said a word during the whole time. it wasn't until we had gotten out of that hell hole the he said anything.

"You're real stupid, you know that?" I heard him say next to my ear as I tried my hand again at navigating the halls.

It got to the point where I was utterly lost, getting really annoyed and about to turn around and smack Peter upside the head for walking so heavily. Yeah, I know I'm probably overreacting, but at this point I had no freaking clue where I was and that can really get under your skin, ya know?

"You're lost aren't you?" Peter asked as I stopped in one of the medical looking hallways to try and calibrate where I was.

"Yes I'm freaking lost." I snapped in a harsh whisper, sending him a glare.

When my head turned in his direction a flash of green caught my eye through one of long and thin vertical door windows. I realized that the green belonged to a person, their hair in fact.

"Josie?" Peter said when he noticed my transfixed gaze and he turned to look too.

There on what seemed to be an operating table was a little girl, no older than ten who was unconscious and was wearing a light blue hospital gown. There where a few people in scrubs that looked to be discussing things that were in audible to me.

That son of a bitch.

Peter must have realized it at the same time I did because as I made a start for the door his arm blocked me from reaching it. becoming a barrier I couldn't get around no matter how much I fought against it.

"No! Lorna! That's my sister" I cried as I pushed as hard as I could to try and get to her. I could feel a small snap inside my mind and all the pent up emotions came flooding out of the dam I had locked them away in. All the anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness I had been feeling for the past two weeks.

Peter must have decided to remove me from the situation entirely because eventually I was lifted from my feet and forcibly carried out of the facility all together, like he had known the way out the entire time.

"No, I can't just leave her there!" I said through tears as I tried to sidestep the fastest person on the planet. "That was my sister, that was Lorna" I said desperately.

"Josie-" Peter said trying to get my focus.

"What the hell did they do? They probably turned her into a freaking puppet," I said, blending my words together as I spoke them quickly with a hysterical panic.

"Josie..."

"-I have to go get her...I have to go get-"

"Josephine!" He said sharply, gently placing his hands on either side of my face to stop my panicking eyes from wandering frantically. I stopped for only a moment, but it was long enough for him to get a few words in.

"There is nothing you can do right now." He said in a quiet urgent voice as if he feared I wouldn't listen. "You're only one person. Now maybe you get a few good punches in, which I know you can-" He added making me smile faintly. "But you know you can't take on all of them Josie. You'd put yourself at risk of being tied down to one of those operating tables and I can't let that happen." He said with a sternness that rarely came out of him.

I stood there unable to say a word for what seemed like an eternity. Barely able to make eye contact either.

"I won't let that happen." He corrected after that long silence, leaning his forehead on mine.

I was collected now. I had re-bricked the dam in my mind and part if me made a vow to not let it collapse again anytime soon.

"I left them all behind." I whispered. "I don't even know why we got to walk." I rambled on in a quiet voice. And the more I thought of the whole situation the more panic started to be heard in my voice and the faster my breathing picked up. I shut my eyes tightly and tried to focus on everything around me: the sounds of leaves being rushed thorough by the wind, the feeling of that same breeze blowing my disastrously knotted curls into an even bigger catastrophe, the warmth and complicated energy I picked up from Peter. _This is what's real._ I told myself silently.

"I feel like I didn't do enough." I sighed, my eyes still shut for the sake of my own sanity.

I gave a small intake of air when I felt lips press to my temple and I squeezed my eyes tightly for a fraction of a second. "Nothing is your fault, Josephine... at least not this time for once." There he goes again. The cheeky bastard couldn't go without cracking at least one joke every twenty minuets.

A subconscious smile speed across my face the same way fire consumes a dry field; staring at one end and spreading to the other. I tilted my head to look up still smiling. But before I met his eyes I felt his lips meet my own. My shock melted away after a few seconds and I kissed him back. Nothing over-the-top or anything close to what you'd find in an E.L. James book (which I've never read, I promise) but as quickly as it came, it passed. I guess it follows that one saying "all good things must come to an end"

"I've wanted to do that for awhile now" I heard him say which acted like pouring a bucket of ice water on an unsuspecting showerer.

"Oh god dammit Peter" I swore and he looked affronted.

"What?"

"You're such an asshole" I mumbled and he leaned down.

"Ah, but the catch is that, that's the best freaking part." He said in my ear which only made me smirk.

* * *

A/N: hey guys! So I'm gonna apologize right off the bat for the swearing in this chapter. I'm a pretty big foul-mouth in my day-to-day life but I am kinda worried people won't like it. The second apology is for the references to a certain pop star that I don't even listen to (I don't like pop) and a certain steamy novel (never read it but by now I'm sure everyone knows what's goin on in that book) and a bro-fist goes to all those who picked up my Harry potter reference.

Question of the day: did you guys go see guardians of the galaxy? If so what did you think? PLEASE DON'T SPOIL IT FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN IT!

Oh and let me answer that for you: it was freakin awesome! Arguably the best marvel movie to date! I loved Drax a lot for some reason and Rocket and Groot are a close second!

Thanks For reaching:

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